First Impressions
by gardensigernumbli
Summary: You only get one chance to make a first impression... It's a pity some people hold the potential to make everything awkward. Fortunately, shinobi are somewhat trained in the art of diplomacy. Konoha Eleven meet their respective roommates.
1. Gryffindor

_(A/N): It's not necessary to have read Sorting Shikamaru before reading this. It'll really only tell you who's in what house, and that's kind of redundant. But if you feel like reading (and reviewing) it, go ahead. _

_Also, Lee's name confuses me. Rock Lee in Japanese should mean that Lee is his given name, but Lee Rock sounds really questionable. _

* * *

><p>"So you're the Gryffindor transfer students?"<p>

Seamus and Dean were sitting on their beds, staring at the three students in the doorway.

Naruto was the first to reply. "Yup! I'm Uzumaki Naruto, remember it!"

Seamus raised an eyebrow.

"My name is Lee Rock. Naruto-kun, I believe they say names backwards in Europe. Your name should be Naruto Uzumaki, correct?" The transfer student with a bowl cut and large eyebrows went to his bed and quickly took off his robes, revealing a green jumpsuit.

"Do you always wear that?" asked Dean.

He replied in a loud voice, nodding emphatically. "Yes! It is the best material to train in! It is specially designed to be extremely breathable and to provide the most comfort!"

The last transfer student sighed and shook his head. "He's always like that," he explained. "I'm Kiba Inuzuka." He didn't look at them, but was more intent on rifling through his luggage.

"Who are you guys?" Naruto asked cheerfully.

"Dean Thomas."

"Seamus Finnegan."

"Excellent! I am sure that we will be the best of friends!"

"Great. Do you guys know if we can get any more food?"

Dean and Seamus seemed slightly taken aback, but recovered quickly. Seamus grinned at Dean. "I think he might eat even more than Ron did."

"Got it!" They looked over to see Kiba triumphantly pull a scroll from his trunk. He unrolled it along the floor, revealing a large Japanese character within a circle of symbols.

"What's that for?" Seamus walked over for a closer look.

"It's a Summoning Scroll for Akamaru," Naruto said from his bed.

"Akamaru?"

"Ano, Akamaru is Kiba-kun's pet dog," Lee offered.

"He's not my pet, he's my partner," Kiba said irritably.

Lee was aghast. "Kiba-kun! I am very sorry! To make up for my mistake, I will do 500 pushups on my knuckles!" He immediately dropped to the ground and started doing pushups at an incredible rate.

"Shit," Seamus muttered. Turning to Kiba, he said, "Why didn't you just bring Aka- Akamaru on the train?"

"Didn't fit," he said. He bit his thumb and slammed his hand down onto the circle of symbols.

When the smoke cleared, Kiba was pinned under a giant white dog, which was currently covering his face in excited licks.

"Are all dogs that big in Japan?" Dean seemed impressed.

"Nah. Only Akamaru." Naruto sat up eagerly. "So what do you guys do for fun?"

Seamus shrugged and rummaged in his pack, pulling out a battered deck of cards. "Wanna play Exploding Snap?"

They were about five minutes into the game when the cards, true to their name, exploded. Dean and Seamus managed to dive behind the bed to get away from the explosion, but that was nothing compared to what the transfer students had done.

Lee had done back handsprings across the room, landing in a defensive stance.

Kiba had jumped next to Akamaru, hands braced on the floor in front of him, teeth bared.

Naruto was standing on the ceiling, hands in front of him, ready to form Shadow Clones.

The cards were lying innocently on the ground, still smoking.

Naruto started yelling immediately. "What was that? What are you trying to attack us for?"

"What the hell? _Attack?_ Are you kidding?" Seamus said angrily. "It's _Exploding Snap_, that's supposed to happen!"

Kiba relaxed, walking back. "Sorry about that. It's sort of a reflex."

"What kind of reflex involves jumping onto the ceiling?" Dean wondered.

Naruto dropped onto the floor. "Magic," he grinned.

"Not really." Kiba slapped him upside the head as he walked back. "Don't pay any attention to what Naruto says, he usually doesn't make much sense. We don't really use what you call magic, but we're trying to see if our chakra's interchangeable. It's sort of an experiment."

"Speaking of experiments," Seamus said with a grin. "Want to see if your ceiling-walking can get us into the girls' dorms?"

"I don't think that's a good idea," Dean said.

Kiba interupted. "It's a great idea! Let's do it!"

Seamus and Naruto followed him out the door.

Lee sighed. "I do not believe that this is a virtuous way to spend their time," he said.

Dean grinned. "Finally, someone agrees with me."

They sat down and set up another game of cards, chatting amicably and waiting for the sound of outraged screams.

* * *

><p><em>Review please!<em>


	2. Hufflepuff

_A/N: My least favorite out of these four. Oh well. _

* * *

><p>"Do you guys have any food?"<p>

The incoming Hufflepuffs seemed surprised by the abrupt request, but answered readily. A tall, lanky boy said, "We're actually right next to the kitchens. Pretty convenient, huh?"

Chouji's eyes gleamed. "Great!" He jumped off his bed, discarding his last empty potato chip bag. "Can you show me where they are?"

The lanky boy grinned. "Right after dinner? You're just like Ernie here. You're going to get fa-"

Chouji's eyes flashed and he opened his mouth to object, but the other Hufflepuff boy cut the speaker off before he could.

"I told you, Justin, I'm not fat, I'm just big-boned. Everything you see here is pure muscle." Ernie gestured to his own body, a grin on his face suggesting that this conversation happened often.

Chouji relaxed. "Chouji Akimichi," he said, sticking out a hand with renewed confidence. "Nice to meet someone else who knows what it's like to be big-boned."

The other boy grinned as well, and shook his hand readily. "Ernie MacMillan. And this stick over here is Justin Finch-Fletchley."

"Cool. Is it just us in here?"

Justin answered this time. "Nah, Zacharias isn't here yet, but he's probably hanging around the common room."

Ernie nodded. "It's probably better that way. He's insufferable. I wouldn't want him to give you guys the wrong impression of Hogwarts." His mouth twisted slightly in contempt.

Justin rolled his eyes. "Ernie doesn't really like Zacharias that much," he said unnecessarily.

Chouji nodded amicably. "I'm sure we'll get along well enough," he said calmly. His stomach growled loudly, reminding them of his original question. "Heh. Where did you say the kitchens were again?"

"Now that you mention it, I could use another slice of shepherd's pie. Quidditch season is going to be starting soon and I want to get a leg up on the other teams. Come on, we'll show you around." Ernie led the way out of the dorm, closely followed by Chouji.

Justin followed them too, then paused at the door. He turned to the other boy in the corner, who had not yet said a word. "Hey, you coming with us?"

Shino raised an eyebrow. It wasn't every day that someone noticed his presence without any work on his part. "Sure," he said. For a split second, the corner of his mouth twitched upwards behind his collar. Without another word, he followed his new dorm-mates out the door.

* * *

><p><em>You know what to do. Review! Hey, that rhymed.<em>


	3. Ravenclaw

"Alright, traps are set."

"Ah, Sakura-chan, is this really necessary?"

"Hinata, just call me Sakura. And besides, the Ravenclaws won't notice."

"If you say so, Sakura-cha- Sakura."

Tenten settled on her bed, twirling a kunai idly. "A little extra security never hurt anybody, right?"

Hinata relaxed a little. "That's true."

The door creaked open, revealing a dark skinned girl. "Oh," she said, surprised. "You must be the exchange students. I didn't realize you'd find your way here so quickly."

"We were put in Ravenclaw for a reason, I guess," Sakura said mildly.

The girl grinned. "I'm Padma Patil. Looks like it's just going to be us four in here then. No one else bothered to come back."

"Oh. Well, nice to meet you. I'm Sakura Haruno."

"Just call me Tenten."

"I'm Hinata Hyuuga."

"Any chance related to that Slytherin?"

Hinata nodded. "He's my cousin."

"Huh." Padma considered this briefly. "He's pretty hot."

Several things happened at once. Sakura, bending down to search through her trunk, snapped her head up and hit it on the lid. Hinata flushed bright red and stumbled backwards slightly. Tenten jerked upright, the kunai slipping from her fingers to embed itself deep in her bedpost.

"Ow! What? Are you serious?" Sakura extracted herself from the trunk, rubbing her head.

"P-Padma, that is kind of uncomfortable."

"Ugh. He's insufferable." Tenten yanked the kunai out of the bedpost, an odd red flush covering her cheeks.

Sakura noticed this, smirking to herself. "Padma, I believe you have some competition."

Padma grinned. "You know him well?"

Tenten scowled, flushing darker. "It's not like I can avoid it. It's the only way I can deal with being stuck with Lee and Gai-sensei all the time."

Sakura waved this aside. "That means you guys spend a lot of time alone together, right?"

"We're on the same team!" Tenten protested.

Hinata intervened. "Please, can we change the subject? Tenten is obviously feeling uncomfortable, and we should respect her wishes."

Tenten smiled gratefully.

Padma looked at Tenten with a grin, ignoring Hinata's comment. "I won't make any moves on him if that's what you're worried about. So what do you like about him? His hair? That too-good-for-you attitude?"

"Mostly the fact that he's not as crazy as the rest of my team."

"So you admit you like him?" Sakura hopped onto Tenten's bed, glad that she had found a new gossip-buddy, now that Ino was in Slytherin. Tenten held the kunai towards her warningly. "If you get any closer, I'll-"

The kunai was suddenly knocked out of her hand by a well-aimed pillow. The girls looked over to the other bed, as Hinata fiddled with the hem of her shirt, looking at the wall with a small smile on her face.

Tenten picked up the pillow, and grinned. "Oh, it's on." She whirled around and threw the pillow straight into Padma's face, who shrieked loudly and kicked the blankets over Sakura's head. Sakura yelled and flailed wildly, managing to free herself and falling onto Hinata's bed in the process.

Hinata picked up another pillow, giggling at the chaos she had caused, and casually dropped it on Sakura's face.

* * *

><p><em>AN: The real reason why Padma is the only HP character is because I couldn't think of anyone else. Oops. And if you think Hinata starting a pillow fight is OOC, trust me. It's ALWAYS the quiet ones. Always._

_Review!_


	4. Slytherin

_A/N: No, not all Slytherins are evil. I am writing based on the impression that Draco is a bit of a whiny coward, Theo's bark is worse than his bite, and that Blaise is just a bit arrogant. _

* * *

><p>Ino took off her robes, letting them fall to her bed. She looked around at the dormitory, taking in the greenish light with a grimace.<p>

"Honestly, what's wrong with a bit of sun?" she muttered to herself.

"You get used to it." A dark haired girl stood in the doorway. "I'm Pansy Parkinson." She walked forward, extending her hand. Ino shook it hesitantly - that's what they did in England, right?

"Millicent Bulstrode," a girl said as she walked in the door. She was rather large, and Ino quashed her initial reaction. It wouldn't do to offend her roommates on the first day.

"I'm Ino Yamanaka," she said with a rather forced smile. "Nice to meet you."

"So you and that new teacher come from the same place, right?" Pansy seemed offhand about it, but it was rather obvious to Ino that she was hiding her excitement.

"Yeah, what about it?"

"How old is he?"

"He's sixteen now."

"What? He's younger than us?"

Ino shrugged. "Well, he's older than me by a few months, but yeah."

"He's pretty cute," Millicent said.

Ino blinked, then thought about it. She supposed he was good looking enough, but he wasn't really her type. Namely, he wasn't Sasuke. But the other girls didn't have to know that. She grinned. "He's even more cute in the morning," she said. "He gets this grumpy look on his face and absolutely refuses to get out of bed."

Pansy raised an eyebrow. "You've seen him in bed?"

Ino smirked. "Oh yeah. It happens all the time." They didn't have to know that she was only there to drag him out of bed to meet the Hokage or for missions. Ino was looking forward to seeing Shikamaru's expression when this bit of gossip reached him.

* * *

><p>Draco's first impression of the new transfer student was not a good one. The guy had walked into the room, nodded curtly at them, and promptly shut the hangings around his bed.<p>

He glanced at Theo and Blaise. Blaise was looking at the closed curtains with a raised eyebrow, and Theo seemed surprised that the newcomer hadn't tried to introduce himself at all.

Draco stalked over to the four poster and yanked open one of the curtains. "I don't think we managed to introduce ourselves properly," he said cooly. "I'm Draco Malfoy." He continued to pull the rest of the curtains open, showing the other two inhabitants of the room. "This is Blaise Zabini and Theodore Nott."

Neji narrowed his eyes slightly, not moving from his cross-legged position. "Neji Hyuuga. Is it common for the English to disregard any notions of privacy, or is it just the Slytherins who are this uncouth?"

Theo snickered at the flustered expression on Draco's face. "Forgive Draco, he spent the last year in the company of some rather questionable characters." He sauntered over to Neji's bed, and extended a hand. "Call me Theo. Theodore makes me sound like an old man."

Neji finally moved, shaking Theo's hand firmly. "Sure."

"It's not every day that someone gets one over Draco," Blaise said from his chair. Draco sputtered slightly. "Not that it matters anymore, but my mom will want to know. Are you pureblood, halfblood, or what?"

Neji paused for a fraction of a second. "I come from the branch family of the Hyuuga clan. I'm not sure how it translates to your misguided concepts of blood, but by your standards, it should be the purest clan in Konoha."

"Really. The purest clan?" Draco seemed skeptical.

"Well. Considered the Senju clan and the Uchiha clan are mostly extinct, yes."

"Guess it's the same everywhere," Theo said dryly.

"I doubt the esteemed families of the Wizarding World traditionally sacrifice half the clan for the sake of the bloodline."

"You'd be surprised," Draco said darkly, touching his left forearm.

"Really?" Neji raised an eyebrow. "I don't think you know what it means to be a constant sacrifice, to potentially be in excruciating and unimaginable pain at any given moment."

"Yes, I do," Draco snarled. "My own father sacrificed me to the Dark Lord to save his own skin. I spent all of the last year trapped in my own house with a homicidal maniac who tortured his subordinates when he had nothing to do. Any misstep, any slight mistake, and it's the Cruciatus, or _worse_."

The two glared at each other for a tense moment, until Theo broke the silence. "Okay, we get it. You guys have _issues._ Boo hoo. I'm just glad all Blaise and I had to do was avoid getting killed by the Carrows."

"Which was a lot easier after we worked out that deal with the other houses to fake the torture sessions."

"Yeah, too bad that Ravenclaw girl didn't get the memo."

Blaise winced a little. "Yeah. Who was it that she kept volunteering for? She'd pick us and that Hufflepuff, right?"

Theo nodded. "Think so. Although to be fair, Vincent and Greg really enjoyed the whole 'torture-the-rebels' thing."

Neji broke away from the staring match with Draco to join the conversation. "Who are they? Friends of yours?"

Theo sneered. "Friends of Draco's. Henchmen really."

Draco shrugged. "They were good subordinates."

"Still didn't like them."

Blaise cut in. "You hardly like anybody."

"Where are they? I didn't notice any other seventh-year Slytherins at the feast."

"They're dead," Draco said woodenly.

"Ah."

There was an awkward silence.

"So what classes are you taking?"

* * *

><p><em>AN: INCONSPICUOUS CHANGE OF SUBJECT. What an awkward way to meet your roommates. Ah, well. Neji can deal with it. As for Pansy having a bit of a crush on Shikamaru... yes, I'm definitely planning on going somewhere with that._

_Review and tell me what you think!_


End file.
